Changes
by twilight guardian
Summary: Things have changed since the Collapse. But a nurse working in her father's hospital finds the bodies of those involved in the destruction. Together, they learn that to live and survive in the current future, they have to learn from the past.
1. A New Begining

Changes

**Changes**

It had been a few months since the fall of the Ziggurat, and it was not only Metropolis that seemed to be affected, but all of the Zones beneath had suffered greatly as well. What was once a magnificent Mega City was how a decaying wasteland to remind everyone of the past. Buildings were brittle, and many had collapsed even after the initial fall of the Ziggurat. Corpses of robots and humans alike were scattered this way and that, most dieing from disease, malnutrition or - in the case of the robots - neglect. It seemed surprising that the effects of more long-term poverty had settled in so quickly, though at the same time not surprising considering the poor conditions of the Zones and the more poverty-stricken citizens when they mingled with the more healthy and upper-classed citizens. Disease quickly spread and to make matters worse a portion of the food supply had become infested with rodents and subsequently thrown many of the citizens into a state of panic, buying as much food as they could to eat and putting food businesses out of work. The wise stored their food, though the foolish who managed to get their clutches on the precious resource gobbled it up and soon faced starvation. It was the rest who survived the initial chaos and death of the destruction who lived to see slightly better days. Food and other supplies were to be shipped in once a week and stored in whatever buildings that seemed to be sustainable. It was only the smaller buildings of possibly three or four stories high that survived – though there were very few. The Upper Metropolis area was getting cleansed of all of the small businesses and if the city had survived another few months would have succeeded. These buildings, though, were old and ravaged. It was a miracle that most had survived at all past the initial collapse.

The sun never shone over the city after that day. It was always cloudy, and gave the survivors a depressed sort of demeanor which added to the despair of the calamity. A third of the survivors had left – though they were only those who had enough wealth to buy a passage to another town. The rest of the people would be forced to live in the dead city and survive or die on their own. These were a majority of the people who lived under Upper Metropolis and in the Zones. A so-called working class, and even scum of the city, they were the majority of the now the sole inhabitants. The Zones in which they lived in were badly damaged by the collapse. Being underground, many entranceways through the Zones both to areas within the Zones and to and from other Zones were blocked. Some people were trapped within their homes, probably with only the corpses of their loved ones for company until someone found them and brought them out and into the ravaged world in which they would have to live.

Though everything seemed as though things would only become worse as the days went by, that didn't stop some people from trying to pick up the pieces. Out in the open and the rubble of the Ziggurat and nearby buildings, a few people worked. One of these people was Atlas, the young rebel leader who had been shot and seriously injured during the entire mess. His father was a doctor, and was able to patch him up and extract the bullet before Atlas died. It had been a close call, and Atlas didn't remember a whole lot of the events of that day or the few days to follow. But he did know that if it wasn't for his younger sister, whom had found him, he would be dead. His sister worked as a nurse in his father's hospital – one of the few remaining small buildings in Upper Metropolis, which had been in danger of being shut down for good. Both his father and sister had begged him to work as a nurse in the hospital after he lost his job, but he knew that the job would soon be lost as the hospital went under. The fact that it was becoming increasingly difficult and almost near impossible to get a job was why he had fought against the Mardukes and Duke Red. Now, it was he himself that was picking up the pieces of that mini-revolution.

Atlas looked over his shoulder to his younger sister, Charissa. She had been out searching for survivors since the first hour of the initial collapse. It had been her shift during that time, and when she had found him, she had been biking around in search of her older brother in order to beg him once again to join the hospital. He was thankful that she had not stayed around long enough to be injured by the collapse. But even with the actual devastation over and done with, it still was a dangerous place. He always kept a close eye on her in case if the rubble shifted or a building looked too dangerous.

Charissa herself looked nothing like Atlas or their father. She was sixteen with dirty blonde hair that fell just past her shoulder blades and sea-green eyes which had been inherited from their mother. She wasn't at all like neither of the males in her family in terms of body structure, either. She was an indefinite specimen of feminism, though at the moment she was wearing Atlas's old clothes in order to dig through the rubble, she looked larger than she actually was. She was determined to sort through everything that was in her way, and finding the bodies of still breathing people had only fueled her passion. It had brought satisfaction to her to know that because of her, those people were getting medical attention from her father, and most likely going to survive. She had even found a young boy trapped in the debris of a fallen building near the broken up pieces of some sort of robot. It was apparent that he was trying to find remains of something, though she didn't know what. She had decided to take his collection of parts to her grandfather, whom was in turn fixing up a badly damaged robot that she had found earlier on. What had freaked her out about the robot, though, was how life like it was, even when badly damaged.

Charissa sighed and straightened herself after what seemed like a long time of bending down to look through the debris, causing her back to throb in protest to her hard labour. As she did so, her foot shifted a loose concrete slab, which caused a slight cave in behind her. She yelped in surprise and spun around. This caused Atlas to look up from his job to see what the commotion was about. He chuckled to himself when he saw that she had only startled herself. But by shifting the rubble accidentally, Charissa was able to catch a glimpse of something coloured amongst the gray slabs of the rubble. It was a hand – though a battered and badly injured hand. Some of the fingers seemed to be broken and large parts of the flesh were gouged out. Panic immediately came to Charissa, as she knew that this person must be badly injured – if even still alive.

"Oh my god!" She gasped, kneeling down to where the hand lay. She began to dig through the rubble, clearing out the smaller pebbles and cobbles before trying to lift the larger pieces off of the body. The fruits of her labour soon gave way to the body of a boy around her age. He had short but messy brown hair, which his bangs seemed to curl around his forehead. Shattered sunglasses hid his eyes, which Charissa probably figured cut through his lids and into his eyes. He was badly wounded, and seemed to have lost a lot of blood. The concrete all around him was soaked in blood, and for the most part it seemed as though the dried up blood from the colder stone had probably stopped most of the initial leakage from his body – possibly keeping him alive. Though as she dug him out, there was no sign of movement on his part, and a lump formed in her throat as she revealed more of his battered body. She knelt onto her knees, her hands on either side of his face, and could feel the cold dried blood under her hands. She tried to not think about it as she lowered her face to his. On her cheek she could feel the slight warm breath that spilled from his mouth in short, weak rasps. He was alive, at least and that was all that was needed to destroy the lump that had formed. Relief came to her face as she stood up, calling out to her brother.

"Atlas! ATLAS!" She called, trying to drag the boy's body out. Atlas had come running over, knowing that she had found a body that still seemed to have life in it. He had almost fallen over, though, when he treaded over a loosened slab, thus forcing him to walk more carefully, minding the slabs lest he fall and injure himself. When he saw the face of the boy that his sister was holding in her arms, he immediately turned from them in disgust.

"Leave him, Charissa. He doesn't deserve to live." Atlas growled; his dislike for the boy could clearly be heard in the tone of his voice. Charissa looked up disbelievingly at him, not understanding why he was saying such things. With a stubborn look on her face, seeing as her brother wasn't going to help her, she continued to haul him away from the site. Atlas grabbed her arm, trying to get her away from him. "No, Charissa! He'll kill you!" She ripped her arm from his grasp, glaring at him.

"Just what is so dangerous about him, Atlas? I work for father's hospital, so it is my job to see it that all survivors from the incident live, regardless of what you or anyone else thinks!"

"Father wouldn't want the Marduke who did all of this in his hospital!" Charissa gasped. She stopped tugging at the teen's body and look up at her brother. This one boy did all of the damage to Metropolis? He was the one that ruined so many lives and made everything seem so desperate? Honestly he couldn't cause too much trouble for her father's hospital. She could tell just by looking at him that he was seriously injured. Not only did he most likely have a good amount of broken bones, but he would have to go through surgery in order to get him back to normal. There were many parts of his body that was badly burned, and even his clothes seemed to melt into his skin to some degree. And she couldn't just leave knowing that she could have saved his life. That notion would haunt her for the rest of her life.

"Well," She said softly, her voice low and trembling. She hesitated, choosing the rest of her words carefully. "Let's just hope that he will change his mind, and won't kill me. It doesn't matter if he was responsible for all of this damage. He's still alive, Atlas, and father taught me to do my best to save lives no matter who they are. So, can you please help me, Atlas?" Atlas let out a small groan of complaint, but then sighed, grabbing the Marduke's arm.

"You are the most stubborn and caring girl I have ever known. Not even a Marduke such as this will change your mind, it seems…" Charissa smiled, glad that Atlas had finally agreed to help her. "Let's just hope that you're right about this guy. He's going to be your responsibility, though." Charissa nodded, helping her brother get the seemingly harmless boy and the other survivors that had been found to the hospital.

Rock woke to the sound of birds chirping merrily to the morning, and the sweet smell of lilies that seemed to fill the air around him. Slowly moving his head towards the origin of the scent, the first thing that his dazzling sapphire blue eyes upon was a sixteen-year-old girl, whom was tending to the source of the smell. She had shoulder length dirty blonde hair, which was tied in a ponytail. She was wearing a rather cute nurse outfit. The material was all white, starting at the knee-high leather lace-up boots. A mini skirt softly twirled around her legs as she moved to the little tune she was humming to herself. The skirt was connected by straps to a sleeveless low-cut shirt. There were small slits at the sides that shown a few centimeters of her stomach. The outfit was lined with a soft blush pink, no doubt from incidents where it was mixed with coloured clothes in the washing machine. The gloves that she wore on her hands stretched to her elbows, completing the outfit. A dim but hazy light shone from the window, outlining her figure and deepening the shadows to show every detail.

He turned his gaze away from her to see exactly where he was, slight panic started to flow through his body. He instinctively reached for his gun; though found that it was no longer at his side. His glasses and gun had been taken away, and his blood stained and torn clothes had been replaced with a hospital gown. The room itself was rather homey. Everything seemed to be kept in order. There was a small desk to the left side of the bed with a mirror, and was made of lovingly polished oak. The sheets and quilt on top of him, he could feel, were thin and airy; making the bed have a soft and comfortable feeling like one would never want to move. The temperature was perfect in the room, and there was soft music playing in the speakers. It was loud enough for if someone just wanted to lay back and listen, though soft enough for someone to fall asleep if desired.

Rock himself felt a little drowsy and sick to the stomach. His vision was blurred slightly, and it seemed like every inch of his body was screaming in pain. He could feel that the pain was there, though he guessed that he had an injection of painkillers in order to make it more tolerable. There was food on a tray for him just beside him on the night stand, which seemed to be fresh and placed there not even ten minutes ago.

Slowly, Rock sat up, ignoring the pain and grabbed the tray of food. He couldn't say that he was anything less than starving. He didn't know when it was that he had last eaten. How long he had been in this place. The last thing that he remembered at all was pushing the detonator for the Ziggurat. As if feeling that he was awake, the girl whom was tending the flower turned around.

"Ah! So you're awake, huh? You know you have me quite a fright when I found you." She sat herself down on a chair that was beside the bed. "My name is Charissa, who might you be?"

"Rock." He stated, shortly. She scrunched up her nose, though still had a smile on her lips.

"Is it spelt Roc as in a giant phoenix, or Rock as in a boulder?" She asked.

"Boulder." Charissa let out a small giggle.

"Well, my brother said that you were the one who caused the Ziggurat to collapse. Is that really true?" Rock glared at her momentarily as he worked on his soup. He kept his head down at all times, not looking at her straight in the eye.

"It was an accident. I was trying to kill a robot that I knew wasn't as perfect as my father thought. She malfunctioned, as I feared she would." His voice was cold, hatred for the robot was apparent in his voice.

"Wow, you must be really brave to cope with a malfunctioning robot! I wish I was as brave as you." Rock moved to grab a drink from the nightstand, and the tray began to slip from his lap. Charissa quickly stood from her chair and caught the tray before his food spilled all over the place. Rock stiffened when she did this, which he got another giggle in response.

"I'm not going to bite, you know." Rock blushed slightly at her comment. She sighed, straightening out her skirt, which had gotten ruffled when she leaned over the bed. "Well, I better get back to work. It's only me, my father and my brother working at this place." Rock then realized that the place that he was in right now was a hospital. Not just any hospital, but a small little family-run business that his father was about to shut down for a more important building that he wanted to establish after the completion of the Ziggurat and Tima on the throne. This was the first time that he had been inside, himself. And now, he was thankful that his father hadn't the time to shut it down before the collapse.

"Who's your brother?" As if he had been cued, Atlas walked into the room. Rock glared at him, obviously remembering the Revolution Leader pest that he had shot the day of the collapse.

"Atlas!" Charissa jumped up and hugged Atlas' neck. He flinched and clutched his sore bullet wound on his stomach. Charissa backed off. "Oops… Sorry."

"Charissa, you should get back to work. Besides, I don't trust him, even without a gun." Charissa hugged, but followed her brother out of the room anyways. She turned to face Rock before she closed the door.

"See you later, Boulder Boy." She joked. Rock just stared at the place where she had been, an emotionless look on his face, though rather confused as to her attitude and actions. He could hear her footsteps going into the room next to his.

"Hey, Kanichi; are you ready to talk to me now?" Kanichi! He was the little pest who helped the damned robot, Tima. What was he doing here at the Hospital of all places? Anger boiled in Rock' veins, thinking about the little brat and the robot, and how everything seemed to go wrong because of him.

"I was looking for my friend. She's a robot, you see…" Kanichi's voice was small and hoarse, but could still be heard through the walls.

"A robot you say?" Charissa asked. There was a short pause.

"Yes. She was more advanced than most robots. She looked human more than any of the others. I don't think that she survived the fall from the Ziggurat, though…" Rock could hear her replying with 'mhm's' and uh-huh's.

"It seems that there are quite a lot of people in this hospital that are mixed with technology. It kind of makes me wonder if it's doing more harm than good."

"Tima would never do anything like that now. I know, I taught her everything she knew!" Charissa paused for a while, as if thinking.

"Her name is Tima? What dose she look like, Kanichi?" She continued.

"Um… Let's see… She has pale skin and short blonde hair and blue eyes." Charissa's footsteps could once again be heard as she walked out of his room. She had not closed the door to Kanichi's room, and Rock noticed, she didn't completely close his either.

"Atlas, can I be excused for two or so hours and then work the night shift?" Charissa asked as she pulled on her running shoes and coat. Atlas poked his head out from a doorway a few rooms down, a confused look on his face.

"And why would you want to do that? Do you know how much trouble we can get into if dad knew you started to do night shifts? He'd kill me! You're already tired enough as it is when you go to school. You'd drop into a dead sleep every lunch hour!" He had long ago disappeared back into the room, as craning backwards to look at her hurt his stomach, though she could still hear his voice.

"Pease, Atlas! Please!" Charissa whined. Once again Atlas appeared, having completed his work. He sighed, defeated.

"Alright, alright! You can go. But you have to do your own shift as well." She groaned, not thinking that it was fair that she had to do both shifts. It was too exhausting for her to do all that work plus keep up in school. But she guessed that since it was a favour that she asked of her brother that she couldn't really complain.

"You better pay be over time or your _dead meat_, Atlas!" Charissa looked up at her brother suspiciously.

"Why do you want me to do the night AND the day shift anyways?" He didn't reply to her question. "You got a _date_ tonight, Atlas?" She taunted, underlining the word date with her voice. Atlas, clearly flustered by what she said began to push her out the door.

"Well you better not keep whatever you have to do with grandpa waiting. See you for the night shift! Bye!" He shut the door, and walked away. Rock exhaled through his nose in a sign of amusement that such a loser would even have a chance at a date.

Charissa ran as fast as she could to the doors that led to Zone 1 and into the pitiful underground copy of Metropolis. Not wanting to look at anything down there, she kept her focus on her objective. Passing her house, she ran another mile or so to her grandfathers' work place. It was an old and run-down warehouse that had been abandoned in a small fire years ago. Her grandfather went there to do his experiments and research in peace and quiet, away from anyone and everyone else, partly because he didn't want to hurt anyone and partly to keep his privacy. She stopped at the door, trying to catch her breath. Her lungs burned and her legs felt like they were going to collapse if she took one more step. She leaned against the burnt entranceway, her hand holding her chest. Gathering a little bit of breath, she walked into the warehouse, and tried not to step or bump into anything. Her grandpa was one of those uncoordinated people. The place was always a mess. Papers, tools and things Charissa didn't know about lay everywhere in the half lit room.

"Uh... Grandpa? Grandpa are you here?" Charissa asked trying to walk through the mess of old junk that was her grandfathers' most prized items when it came to work. "This is worse then Atlas's room." She muttered under her breath with a little laugh. She knew she'd be dead if she said that to his face. "Grandpa?" She called again. A small explosion answered her. She ran towards the explosion site, fearing that her grandfather had been injured. She coughed, waving away the smoke and saw her grandfather. He was hanging upside down in a tangle of wires and cables. He was a short man with a slight potbelly, and wild frizzy and unkempt hair. She giggled at the sight and moved towards him to help him down.

"Ah! Charissa! What a surprise! What brings you here?" He asked as he was finally able to come upright. "I thought your shift at the hospital wasn't over for the next three hours." He had a sort of high-pitched voice, making him sound somewhat like a chipmunk. Was he using helium again for his experiments?

"Atlas and I made a deal, don't worry about it grandpa. I wanted to talk to you about the robot I found a few days ago. Turns out that boy, Kanichi was friends with the robot and her name was Tima." Charissa said, sitting down on one of her grandfather's inventions. For now she decided to call it a 'Thingy-ma-bobber'. "And the boy I found, his name is Rock. He was deeply involved with Tima and the Ziggurat incident. "

"Yes. Yes. I heard about that. Rock always had a terrible dislike of robots. Ever since a group of them destroyed his home and family - or so I was told. So when Duke Red adopted him, he took it in to protect the man."

"But Duke Red is dead. He died during the time of the collapse of the Ziggurat. You think Rock might still think he is alive?" She asked, playing with a loose spring of his invention, which popped off, landing on the ground a few feet away.

"I don't know, Charissa. Yes Duke died that day, but only because he thought Rock had been killed. You see my dear, you never really know how much you loved, or cared about someone until they are gone forever. And that's what Duke realized when he saw the thing explode in front of him. And Rock was too close to be able to survive. And so-" He was cut off by Charissa.

"And so he tried to save Rock - or what was left of his body." Charissa mused. "And Kanichi also said Tima wanted to be…" She changed the subject. She hopped off of the Thingy-ma-bobber and whispered into his ear.

"No Charissa! I can't do it! It is impossible! Not even I can do something that dangerous even if it is for a good cause." Charissa's face wore a pleading expression.

"Please grandpa. Please. You have to! Do it for me." The old man sighed.

"Alright, Charissa. But only because you're my granddaughter." Charissa jumped up and down and hugged him.

"Oh thank you! Thank you so much grandpa!"

"Yes, yes. Get back to work. Your shift at the hospital?" Her grandfather chuckled. He knew the schedules quite well, and knew that Charissa would be starting the night shift in only a few hours. The girl obviously didn't think about what a squeeze for time it would be to come all the way down.

"That's right… I better get back." Waving goodbye, Charissa ran out the door, and ran all three miles back to the hospital. Atlas was waiting at the entranceway, pacing a little as he waited. Once she came into view a smug smile came onto his face, seeing how exhausted she was. She was rather silly, thinking that she could rush across the ruins of the city in such a short period of time.

"Have fun little sister?" He asked as she tried to catch her breath after running four miles straight.

"Sh-shut up.Atlas." She panted as she walked slowly to the front office and sat down on a bench.


	2. Truths

Chapter 2  
  
A month had passed since Charissa first found Rock under the remains of the Ziggurat. And while both Rock and Kanichi were healing, Charissa managed to break the hatred between the two and get them as close as she can get Rock a friend to.  
  
But standing on a hill over looking the city, a tear streamed down her face. She was planning to do this for a long time now. But it still pained her to do this to Rock. He still thought his father, Duke Red, was alive. And he would be very angered to find that he was dead. After all, that horrible man was Rock's only family. But he had to know, and Charissa knew it. She sighed as she wiped away her tears and put on a forced smile.  
  
"Rock, I want to show you something. Please, will you come with me?" She headed in the direction of the cemetery were all the people had been buried from the Ziggurat incident. Before the Ziggurats downfall the new cemetery had been a park. Charissa loved that park and had visited the area whenever she had time. But now it was lined with cold black steel bars and every inch of the park was lined with gravestones of the deceased. She tried not to look at Rock as she wondered how he would take the truth of his 'father's' death.  
  
***  
  
Charissa led Rock forward, and into the cemetery. Rock didn't get why she had led him to a place like this. Then Charissa stopped at a particular grave and bent down. After just a few seconds of analyzing the grave, she scooted over to the side to let Rock see. Taking a glance at the grave he gasped. On the concrete slab was engraved 'Duke Red'. But this couldn't be! His father wasn't dead! He just had to be alive!  
  
"I don't understand. What kind of game is this, Charissa?" Rock asked angrily. Charissa cringed at the raise of his voice but didn't speak. Still squatted down, she kept her gaze at the grass, watching a small caterpillar that had fallen out of a tree. Rock, not getting an answer, began to storm off. Then in a quiet voice, Charissa spoke.  
  
"He really is dead, Rock." Her voice was so small Rock barely had even heard it. He stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around.  
  
"What do you mean?" Rock asked. Charissa dared to look up at him.  
  
"I mean he's dead! He did not survive after the day of the Ziggurat!" Her own voice was raised now, which had actually surprised Rock, because Charissa wasn't the kind of person to yell. But she was. She stood up abruptly and her face was actually inches from his. "Look, I know that it may be hard for you to believe but Duke Red died because he thought you were dead. Remains Of buildings fell on him as he tried to dig up your body. And if you don't believe me, then that's your problem. He's dead and there's nothing you can do about it! People die every day, and people who are left behind have to deal with their passing, and DEAL WITH IT! And don't you dare do anything stupid Rock, or else you'll get it big time, pal!" She walked away rather fast, leaving Rock with a stunned look on his face. That's when the piece if information shot through him like a bullet. Shaking his head, he ran after Charissa and grabbed her arm.  
  
"Now-"She slapped him. A big ugly hand mark resided on his cheek. Her hand stung from the force of her attack, but she ignored it. Then she broke down crying.  
  
"I'm sorry." Charissa said. 'I never should have brought you here, and I shouldn't have yelled at you. "She sniffed. Rock was confused by all of these emotions she displayed as well as all the emotions he himself was feeling all at once: Anger, sorrow, regret and foolishness. A mulduck wasn't trained to handle emotions. And that's why he hated it when she did cry. So he just sat down and watched her. He hesitated for a second, and then spoke.  
  
"Charissa," She looked at him. "I-I'm the one that should be sorry. I guess that I didn't believe that my father was dead." Charissa smiled. Then the smile faded and she stuck a finger to his nose.  
  
"Yeah, well next time you should listen to me instead of blowing your top off like a freaking volcano! C'mon Rock, we're going back to the hospital." She winked, and began to drag Rock back to her father's building. Rock –or course –argued. But there is no arguing with Charissa Taylor. Rock eventually gave up and agreed.  
  
***  
  
Kanichi smiled at the sight. Charissa and Rock were arguing over whether to stay or go back to the hospital. But he finally gave up and let the kind, caring, and yet stubborn girl take him back to the hospital. Rock did indeed look better, all his wounds from the Ziggurat was gone! But there were scars left on him that even he didn't know he had. Kanichi sighed and gradually followed the two back to the corner of the city where she worked. He had actually managed to get ahead of them because Charissa and Rock were moving so slow as they talked. But Kanichi wouldn't help wondering: What if Rock's wounds never heal? Sure his physical wounds will but what about his emotional ones? The scars implanted in his mind, heart and soul for all of these years. Will Rock ever be able to live in peace with humans, robots and most importantly – himself? The scars are yet too fresh to tell.  
  
"But when the time comes, Rock, will you forgive and forget? Live in peace and happiness?" As Kanichi walked up the steps – just ahead of the other two – Kanichi saw a short and chubby man at the hospital. His hair was sort of long, messy, un-cleaned and frizzy as well as white to show his age. He was talking to Charissa's father, a couple of roller-beds beside them. Charissa and Rock just arrived at the door and stood beside Kanichi as they watched the man take the two rollers away.  
  
"Grandpa, Dad, what happened?" Charissa asked as she looked at the lumpy sheets. "Oh, please don't tell me those are, are -"  
  
"Lori and Will, yes. Grandpa is just shipping them out for us so we can look after more patients." Her father turned and went back to his duties.  
  
"But they were doing so well! I thought they would be out of here in a couple of days at least!" Charissa's grandfather sighed.  
  
"We s'ought, too, Charissa. But unknown to you, your fasser, or Atlas – z'ere windows 'here open and t'ey 'here already sick before z'e collapse of z'e Ziggurat. "Charissa's face held an expression of mourning for the two lost children. And it also weighed heavy on Kanichi's heart for they were hospital roommates with him.  
  
"Your grandfather has bad English." Rock implied. Charissa rolled her eyes.  
  
"Well of course. He's been living somewhere in Asia for most of his life. Never came to North America until he was an adult." Charissa explained. "I need to teach the guy everything."  
  
*** At the end of the day, Charissa led the boys down to Zone 1 and into the trailer they lived in for the past eight or so years. The trailer was small which made the thing feel stuffy and cramped. And Charissa knew that Kanichi had been here once before, with Tima. She only wished that she had not been stuck doing Atlas' night shift because of his 'rebellion' when they had come. She would have liked to meet Tima. She got the boys settled down and said she had to see her grandfather for a few reasons. Half of it was true. She thought as she started the shorter run to her grandpa's workshop. I mean, yes I do have to go see him, for a few reasons. Though I could never tell them why. Still not telling them the whole truth about what I'm doing leaves me with a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. She ran on until she got to her destination. Her grandfather was waiting for her at the entrance.  
  
"We will have to do it after all. But even with all these extra parts, most of them are too infected with disease." He muttered to Charissa. "Bring me my tools from the back. She did what she was told, and they worked for hours until early dawn.  
  
Charissa crept into her bed at around two-in-the-morning and managed to get a few hours of sleep. She soon woke up to the smell of burning bacon. She got out of bed, still vary sleepy and went into the kitchen. She became wide-awake when she saw what was going on. There was Kanichi and Rock, both in freshly washed – now freshly dirtied – aprons, trying to do five things at once. Meanwhile everything they tried to cook was on the verge of becoming burnt to a crisp. Charissa giggled slightly and the noise over the sizzling stopped the boys. They turned around, Kanichi blushing red and Rock was slightly pink on the cheeks.  
  
"W-we were – uh... We were hungry." Kanichi stuttered, going a shade deeper in embarrassment. Charissa sighed, shaking her head as she walked the rest of the way into the kitchen. She put on her mothers' old apron – which she had used for baking when she was a child – and began to clean up.  
  
Once everything was set, the burnt food was thrown in the garbage, and a new set was cooking, Charissa opened up a cupboard that both boys had failed to notice. "All that trouble and you could have just had cereal." She said, shaking the box, the substance inside shaking. Atlas walked into the room, still in his T-shirt and boxers, and half asleep, he sat down in a chair.  
  
"Dish m' up, Chris." He said through a yawn. Charissa put her hands on her hips, a dishtowel in one hand, still wearing the apron. It made her look somewhat of a housewife glaring at her husband.  
  
"Dish yourself up, Atlas. I'm eating and after I'm taking the boys out for the day." She sat down and started to eat her breakfast with them. Then she, Kanichi and Rock went out onto the streets of Metropolis.  
  
Charissa led the boys into a store in the main city's mall and they did a little clothes shopping. Since Duke Red was dead, Rock had no choice but to inherit his fortune. So the two watched a small fashion show as Charissa tried on some new clothes. She even made Kanichi and Rock try on some for gifts for her father and brother. Charissa was actually enjoying herself. She never really had any real friends to hang out with. Or do any simple things like go to the mall, talk or anything friends would do. At least she had good taste in clothes. She preferred jeans, baggy or not, and a T- shirt. After a few hours of clothes shopping, she threw away her old ripped and extremely baggy work clothes – that used to belong to Atlas – and wore a light blue sleeveless top with thin darker stripes and had lace-up at the sides, showing some of her skin, though not a lot. Along with a dark jeans vest and a white cap, putting her hair in a ponytail through the back. Now it was Rock and Kanichi's turn. The only thing they had to wear at the moment was other work clothes that Atlas passed down to Charissa.  
  
"Why not try these on, Kanichi?" Charissa said, handing him a few pairs of clothes. Rock also chose an outfit Charissa had given him. His runners were worn and the shoelaces were a bit big, but the shoes fit more comfortably then his Marduke boots. Plus since they were already worn once, they fit better, and were lighter. They seemed more broken in than newer shoes. His jeans were black and had chains around them. His tank top was a bit big, so it looked baggy and drooped slightly. Charissa traded hats with him, so she could have the hikers' hat while he had hers. And he chose sunglasses to at least make him look more like a Marduke. Charissa chose sunglasses as well. More cheery and not forbidding like his. But Charissa wore hers on her hat, not on her nose like Rock. Kanichi on the other hand kept his old shoes and got plain dark blue jeans to match his gray shirt. ***  
  
Well... I know. I screwed up Mulduck with Marduke, but gimme a break. When I first started the idea out for this fic, it had been a year since I watched Metropolis. So I did a Royal Screw UP! But meh.. I did the best I could in the spell check, so don't send me little flamies because I spelt something wrong. Sorry for not updateing sooner! Ja ne minna! 


	3. Charissa's Past

I know, I know. I've been away for ages. I'm really sorry. Here's the third chapter of Changes. I hope you like!

Chapter 3: Charissa's past.

Charissa had insisted on going to the Music store, and dragged Kanichi and Rock down. She immediately put headphones on Rock's ears. Rock never really understood why people his age liked to listen to it. His idea of fun, of course, was hunting and shooting Robots. Country music filled his mind, with soft songs that actually made sense. Songs about taking a stand, and getting away from a life you should be doing, so look for a life you wished to be doing. Country was going quite out of date these days, but to Rock, it seemed just fine. Country was to sooth the soul, and mind, and gets you thinking about things. But maybe he was just misinterpreting the songs wrong. But that's what came to his mind when he heard these. They were songs about love, and about life. No other songs he heard before were like this at all.

He glanced over at Charissa, who was showing a CD to Kanichi. She had been trying to show him the greater things in life ever since he woke up the first day in the hospital. He seemed to grow attached to people who took pity on him, as he did with Duke Red. But this time, it was a girl his age. Could he be growing a different attachment to her, then to Duke? His was a fatherly/son type of attachment, but she was slightly younger then he. So what? Sister? Something else? The next thing he knew, he saw Charissa's hand waving in front of his face.

"Hello? Earth to Rock, any intelligent life in there? I said we're going, didn't you hear me?" Rock shook his head.

"Sorry, Charissa. I was just thinking, that's all." Charissa shrugged as she headed for the door.

"Whatever, Boulder Boy. We have to go. I wanna show you guys something." She smiled as she headed for another store. "But how about some ice cream for the trip there, huh?" She smiled as she inspected the different flavors. "What do you guys want? I'll have one scoop chocolate, one peppermint and one chocolate mint, please."

"Three scoops extreme chocolate swirl, with Oreo toppings for me and Charissa's." Kanichi said. Charissa smirked.

"You know my weakness too well, Kanichi!" He laughed. "What about you, Rock?" His lips moved slightly in the first supposed real smile he had since he sneered at Tima.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to break my father." He said. "I guess I'll have one scoop plain chocolate." Charissa shook her head, laughing.

"Naw, Man. We're trying to break you!" She playfully slapped him on the back. "Change his order to two scoops chocolate, one peppermint." She smiled at Rock. "You gotta live a little."

She licked her ice cream a few seconds later, as she headed south from the hospital.

"Oh, sorry, guys, I have to go. I promised you're brother I'd help him with his shift." Charissa practically snorted.

"That's it! Atlas IS going out with someone. I bet it's that Tasha Morgans girl. He'd never admit it in a kazillion years that he likes her, but he does. She is very rich and prissy, but has a kind heart once you get to know her. I guess." Kanichi once again laughed at the idea of Atlas having a date.

"I can't picture him going out with a girl like Tasha. I mean, how could she like him, when she has all those other guys swarming around her?" Charissa shrugged.

"Its one of those great mysteries we'll never know, I guess. Anyways, see you." She waved at Kanichi as he ran back north to the hospital. Charissa grabbed Rock's hand and led him forward. "I think it's this way, I'm sure of it!"

"Charissa, have you ever gone to this part of Metropolis before in your life?" Charissa stopped for a second.

"Well…actually no. I have never really taken this particular route. Rock sighed.

"We're lost, aren't we." She only smiled, and ran ahead of him.

"Follow me, I know where I'm going!" She just rounded the corner and out of Rock's sight and screamed. He quickened his face and stopped at the corner. It was dark, and there were lots of shadows. He couldn't be seen, but he could see whoever they were. They were a fang of older teenagers, and young adults. At least five or six. One of them held Charissa in his arms. She was frightened and was struggling to get free. Rock aimed his gun, and a dagger, he just pulled out of his pocket. He shot the first, and threw the dagger at the second, and once again, used his gun to shoot the third. The one holding Charissa held his own dagger closer to Charissa's throat. She whimpered and struggled weakly.

"Who are you?" The man shouted. "Show yourself and I won't kill her." Rock just smiled as he aimed for his stomach. He only prayed that Charissa didn't move back to the spot. He closed one eye, and took aim. The man cried out in pain, and dropped the dagger. Charissa ran and hid behind Rock, her hands tightly clenched to his shirt. He aimed again, this time at the man's heart.

"They call me Rock." When he was just about to pull the trigger, Charissa put her hand over it.

"Leave him, Rock. He's learnt his lesson. Please Rock, don't murder anymore.." He sighed, and put away his gun. "Thanks, Rock."

"What's the difference anyways? My hands are already stained with blood. So what's the difference of claiming another?" Charissa got that expression on her face. Not that of a child, but that of worry, pity and sorrow.

"Then why don't we wash that blood off? Put down your gun and never take it out again unless if you really need it. Only for self defense, Rock." She smiled. "Now, let's get going, shall we?" They headed out to the forest outside of the city, Charissa then covered his eyes with her hands.

"You'll really love this place, Rock. But I can't tell you where we're going." She smiled, as she led him blind deeper into the forest. She stopped him, and uncovered his eyes. They were standing in front of a cabin deep in the forest. She reached up to the roof, and grabbed the key in the gutter. Then, she led him inside, once she had opened the door.

The cabin was completely made out of wood, and by the look of dust, it hadn't been inhabited for a long time. The main hallway led into the living room. The stairs was on the other side of the room, going up to the bedrooms. Then, there was the room right next to the stairs, leading to the kitchen. Rock stared for a few minutes, looking at the details of the house.

"How'd you find this place, Charissa?" Charissa hesitated for a second, looking down at her feet.

"I was born here…"

"Hmm?"

"Mom, dad, and Atlas used to live here. My mom, Atlas and even I were born here in this very house. But when mom died, my dad didn't have the heart to stay. It hosted too many memories of her, so we moved."

"That must be rough." Rock said. Charissa shook her head.

"Naw, I was only a baby when we moved. But I would like to know more about my mother." She looked around the old cottage. "This place is a mess…" She turned to the closet next to the door, and opened it. She screamed as a bunch of moths and a couple of bats came flying out. The bats landed on her shoulders.

"They were domesticated." Rock mused, as he looked at a piece of old paper inside a pocket. "Dear Charissa, I knew you'd find this place one day. And I know how much of a clean freak you are, so I stuffed my pet bats, Screeher and Fang in the closet, if you hadn't already found them. I won't be able to take care of them very much anymore, now that the Ziggurat is almost finished. Anyways, I know that you will be the one to find our family's secret somewhere. But it won't be that easy to find. So, I'll make it easy on you and give you a hint: Mirrors and pictures reflect your face. I alone have no reflection for you to trace. Yet I alone hold the key, to reflect things that you no longer see. What am I? When you figure it out, your next clue will be waiting, and you'll be one step closer. Good luck, Atlas."

"So, I guess we should follow his advice and look for whatever it is we're supposed to." Rock kept reading the riddle over and over again to himself.

"Mirrors and pictures reflect your face?" He pocketed the note and paced for a while, thinking.

"I think I know what he's talking about. A mirror or pictures. There are some here, but I can't really remember where. Oh, I remember now, in my parents' old room." The two ran up stairs and into the master bedroom. All the while, Charissa's heart pounded in her chest. She was going to find out more about her mother. There was a photo album on the desk. But as she ran for the desk, she tripped. There, under the bed, lay a jewelry box. It was made of pure gold, jewels outlining the frame. Vine designs were carved into the box. A flash came into her head.

A young woman with the same hair color and eyes as Charissa's looked down at her with a loving smile. Softly, she called Charissa's name. Another flash and it was gone. Charissa's dream from when she was little, the only one she had of her mother.

"That's it!" Charissa sat up, hauling the box up from under the bed and polishing it from any dust. "Atlas didn't mean pictures or mirrors reflecting your face, he meant your memories! Sad told me he bought mom a jewelry box for their wedding gifts. He said it was mom's most treasured item next to Atlas and me." Charissa took the photo album off of the desk, flipping through; a gold key fell from its pages. She grabbed the key and shoved it into the lock, and opened it. Charissa almost cried in delight as she saw some of her mother's most precious items inside. And then, she found a little note at the bottom. Rock took the note and read it.

"So you solved my riddled did you? I hope it wasn't too hard for you. Now, you are one step closer to your goal. But you have a long way to go yet. Can you solve this one?

Bright as day, dark as night. Another reflection riddle you have to fight. Clear as glass, and cold as ice. Solving this next clue will be very nice." Screecher screeched and both of them jumped. Fang landed on Rock's shoulder.

"Let's go get a drink. Running up and down these stairs is making my mouth dry." He nodded in agreement, and they walked back downstairs. Charissa poured a glass for Rock, and then for herself. Looking over her cup, she noted that Rock kept waving a hand over his drink. Slowly, and then quickly.

"What' wrong, Rock?" She asked, setting her cup down on the counter.

"The riddle." He paused for a second. "Fang waved a wing over the water. Have you noticed? The light from outside makes the water bright. Put a hand over it and … "He looked up. Charissa smiled.

"Fang, good boy. Rock, you are a genius!" She ran out the door, and once again, Rock could barely keep her in sight. She stopped at the edge of the dock at the lake near the cabin. The sun was reflecting off of the water. It was almost blinding to look at as the glare hit their eyes. Then, as if by magic, a cloud floated over the lake, blocking the glare. The water almost looked like the sky at night.

"Bright as day, dark as night." She looked out further into the lake, dipping her fingers into the water. She shivered. "Clear as glass, cold as ice, ROCK!" She looked back at him, excidedly. He nodded with a small grin. "Oh no…"

"Oh yes. After you Milady." Rock pushed her off the dock into the freezing cold water.

"Cold! C-C-CO-OLD!" Charissa whimpered, shivering. "Alright. Two can play that game." Charissa dived under the water and then sprang up, grabbing Rock's ankles and pulling him in. Screecher and Fang had taken refuge on some branches in the forest. Rock glared at her, but had to follow Charissa as she once again dived under the water. Almost immediately, Charissa noticed something in the murky water. She tapped Rock's shoulder and motioned for the surface.

"I noticed something down there, let's go take a look." Charissa said once she had broken the surface. Charissa took a deep breath and went under once more. Rock was just behind her. She grabbed the shimmering thing at the bottom of the lake. It was an open compact. The sunlight had reflected off of the mirrors. Rock pointed to a cave that was right behind it. Ad they entered it they could immediately see a light at the end. Charissa's lung began to burn, and she felt light headed. She needed air! The light was bright now, and it seemed just out of reach. Charissa felt Rock's grip around her waist and she blushed slightly. Then, she felt the burst of cold air stinging her cheeks as they broke surface. She looked up at Rock, both breathing heavily.

"Y-You looked like you were drowning. You had almost completely stopped paddling and your eyes were closing." Rock said, looking down at her worriedly.

"My lungs did start to burn…" She said once she caught her breath. "And I had felt light headed…" She looked up at him. "Thanks, Rock..." He smiled and took out something.

"Look Charissa. It was right on a ledge just below the water." It was an old and rusted tin can with a plastic lid. He opened it and inside had two notes.

Well! That's the end of my third chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I really do look forward to reading your reviews. Thanks!


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